I am new to coffee. I don't have a lot of experience drinking it or making it. I started drinking it regularly about a month ago, when someone gave me a Keurig machine. There were things I didn't like about the machine (those cups are so expensive!) so I looked for another method to make it. I decided on a Clever Coffee Dripper. I like that you can control so many variables with it, but I can't figure out what each variable does. I know it will take time to learn, but can you give me a bit of advice?

All the coffee I've made with the CCD so far is stronger (by which I mean bitter) than I want it, but if I use less coffee, it still tastes bitter but with less flavor. What do I need to tweak to make coffee that's less bitter, but still flavorful?

Here's what I'm doing. I'm brewing Muddy Dog Pepper Cask coffee from the most recent roasting (which I think was Nov 1). So far, this coffee tastes better to me in the Keurig (using an Ekobrew) than in the CCD. I am grinding it using a Hario hand mill (that I've modified with the Orphan Esspresso kit), to what I think is a "medium drip" grind (at least, it looks about the size of the stuff in the can of Maxwell House coffee my husband uses with the Ekobrew in the Keurig). The grind is very consistently sized. I put a Melitta filter in the CCD, then rinse it with boiling water and drain that water out. I put the just-ground coffee in the rinsed filter, then heat my water in an electric kettle to about 200 degrees. Next I start my timer for 4 minutes and pour a couple ounces of water over the coffee and watch it "bloom" -- as soon as the initial dome falls, I put in about half the remaining water, stir, then put in the rest of the water and cover. When my timer gets down to 2 minutes, I take the lid off and stir one more time, then put the lid back on. At 1 minute remaining, I start draining the CCD over a travel mug. That takes almost exactly 1 minute.

So which variable should I tweak to make the coffee less bitter? Do I need a coarser grind? Or a different temperature water? Or less time? I know the Keurig doesn't get as hot as the water in my kettle, so I'm going to try cooler water. What else should I do differently? As I mentioned, less coffee doesn't seem to be the answer -- then I just get weak bitter coffee. I'm completely willing to experiment, but I'm feeling very overwhelmed.

I would first try a coarser grind if that doesn't work try stirring less or a shorter brew time. Are you using a scale to measure your coffee? If not I would suggest using one. Check out the link below from Prima Coffee on immersion brewing it might help.

Oh my. A coarser grind (much coarser) and less time (I'm not sure how much less, because I screwed up the timing -- I didn't hit start on my timer right away when I started pouring. Grrr....) really did the trick. My coffee this morning is *much* better. Thank you!

For a coffee novice, you do certainly seem to be more advanced than I am, and I've been drinking coffee for over a decade. Of course, the majority of that time is going with what the mass population has been sold: buying ground, using a cheap coffee maker and you have coffee.

I have a keurig too - and yes the cups are very expensive. I have one of those single cup filters for using your own ground coffee. Not sure if this is what you have too, but I hated it. I felt like I was wasting the coffee as the keurig pushed the water through too quickly (it seems to me it did).

Someone here told me that kcups, if you do the math, cost about $20 / lb.

A few questions... what do you mean by "blooming" the coffee? From the context, I think it's when the ground coffee first swells up from the water absorption?

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